Buying a Viper..... Help needed!
Discussion
Hi Guys/Gals
Im new to this forum and hence this being my very first post!
Looking at buying a Viper as i have idolised this car since i was a kid, I thought intially i might go for a RT10 but recently I'm swaying towards the GTS.
I know they pop up from time to time, some in great condition but with unrealistic prices, others affordable but requiring some/a lot of work which I'm not sure i want to take on being the first one i buy!
Ideally i was looking around a 2001/2 GTS, although could be swayed to look further a field.
I noticed very recently one has popped up on piston heads....
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...sc-gts/1191...
Its a tad more than i was prepared to pay but I'm after some opinions on whether this car is a good buy, price realistic and any other input my fellow Viper enthusiasts might have, just seems a little over priced to me but I'm willing to be corrected!
The car looks like its been well looked after but its about 4/5hrs from me so quite a way to go just for a "look".
It has an extensive list of modifications too, i think a couple of other Vipers were tuned up at the same time as this by the sounds of it?
By the time i come round to buying , knowing my luck this car will have sold! Any tips on what to look for, price brackets, things like that are all valuable info to me.
Guess i also best phone CCI, SIS etc etc to make sure they cover the car.......!
Any help is kindly appreciated
Cheers
Ad
Im new to this forum and hence this being my very first post!
Looking at buying a Viper as i have idolised this car since i was a kid, I thought intially i might go for a RT10 but recently I'm swaying towards the GTS.
I know they pop up from time to time, some in great condition but with unrealistic prices, others affordable but requiring some/a lot of work which I'm not sure i want to take on being the first one i buy!
Ideally i was looking around a 2001/2 GTS, although could be swayed to look further a field.
I noticed very recently one has popped up on piston heads....
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...sc-gts/1191...
Its a tad more than i was prepared to pay but I'm after some opinions on whether this car is a good buy, price realistic and any other input my fellow Viper enthusiasts might have, just seems a little over priced to me but I'm willing to be corrected!
The car looks like its been well looked after but its about 4/5hrs from me so quite a way to go just for a "look".
It has an extensive list of modifications too, i think a couple of other Vipers were tuned up at the same time as this by the sounds of it?
By the time i come round to buying , knowing my luck this car will have sold! Any tips on what to look for, price brackets, things like that are all valuable info to me.
Guess i also best phone CCI, SIS etc etc to make sure they cover the car.......!
Any help is kindly appreciated
Cheers
Ad
"By the time i come round to buying , knowing my luck this car will have sold!"
So are you looking to buy a car between now and the next couple of months or have you just started looking to see what's out there and are still saving?
The car you highlighted is the Dealers personal car, its been at that price for a LONG time, it all depends what you like/want
So are you looking to buy a car between now and the next couple of months or have you just started looking to see what's out there and are still saving?
The car you highlighted is the Dealers personal car, its been at that price for a LONG time, it all depends what you like/want
Wow.... Talk about being pretentious musclemaniac, when you profess to know anything about me then you have a right to judge!
I was using that as a figure of speech Fatboy, as im having a look around whats out there, talking to people who can offer advice and making my mind up. The fact im hesitant is not due me "dreaming", its the fact i want to make sure when i spend this kinda cash im buying a car that is right for me and that matches what im after as so i dont see one come on the market in 6 months time and think, i wish i had waited!
almost feels like i have something to prove just to be posting on here......
I was using that as a figure of speech Fatboy, as im having a look around whats out there, talking to people who can offer advice and making my mind up. The fact im hesitant is not due me "dreaming", its the fact i want to make sure when i spend this kinda cash im buying a car that is right for me and that matches what im after as so i dont see one come on the market in 6 months time and think, i wish i had waited!
almost feels like i have something to prove just to be posting on here......
ViperAd said:
Wow.... Talk about being pretentious musclemaniac, when you profess to know anything about me then you have a right to judge!
I was using that as a figure of speech Fatboy, as im having a look around whats out there, talking to people who can offer advice and making my mind up. The fact im hesitant is not due me "dreaming", its the fact i want to make sure when i spend this kinda cash im buying a car that is right for me and that matches what im after as so i dont see one come on the market in 6 months time and think, i wish i had waited!
almost feels like i have something to prove just to be posting on here......
Ignore that tI was using that as a figure of speech Fatboy, as im having a look around whats out there, talking to people who can offer advice and making my mind up. The fact im hesitant is not due me "dreaming", its the fact i want to make sure when i spend this kinda cash im buying a car that is right for me and that matches what im after as so i dont see one come on the market in 6 months time and think, i wish i had waited!
almost feels like i have something to prove just to be posting on here......
t viperad, he is a troll. You will get some first class advice on here.
Hi Viper AD 1ST of all i admire your choice of car and turning your dream into reality which i think is great .i just sold my GTS which was also Highly Modified like the one you seen in the Advert .i think being your First viper i think you would be more at ease with a standard GTS from 96-02 prices in the UK range from £30k to £ 38k for a good decent car with slight or little modifications there are couple about if you dont have any luck and can wait couple of months i can help you to import one from the states inc shipping and registration if you need any advice please drop me an email
I think you shall buy mine nothing better than an RT with the roof off
Http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Re insurance CCI are pretty good and unless you are below 30 you shall not have issues covering it
nothing better than an RT with the roof offHttp://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Re insurance CCI are pretty good and unless you are below 30 you shall not have issues covering it
That link doesn't work for me, which car are you looking at op?
I have a very nice gts not on the market yet but it has a few modifications which might or might not put you off. Nothing putting stupid power into the car more handling focused.
Pm me if you would be interested in knowing more details
I have a very nice gts not on the market yet but it has a few modifications which might or might not put you off. Nothing putting stupid power into the car more handling focused.
Pm me if you would be interested in knowing more details
musclemaniac said:
there are a lot of junk salvage cars in the UK that have suddenly got a clean record......you guys seem to be ok wi dat......check how straight the car is as it's probably had some damage!
No WE ARE NOT OK WITH THAT. I don't know what gives you the idea that WE are OK with that.This affected me personally with one such car and the DVLA AND Police got involved at my request to get my monies back. The ACR You highlighted a while back is registered as Cat D and owners/owner are aware.
So what other Vipers do YOU know about that were wrecks, I would be very interested to know so I can keep a record for future owners.
please can the uneducated go forth and multiply, I have no idea who or where you came but please find another forum to harass, you mentioned on hear that my car was such a wreck knowing f all about it, i am on my 3rd viper and just put my name on another in the US when you can afford or have the balls to own 1 please come back, until then keep your tiny knowledge of the car to your self
neilsfishing said:
just put my name on another in the US
Ohhh what you got?OP What do you want from a viper, A highly modified one already done, and unmodified one you want to tune to be highly modified, A stock one or a mostly stock but for the essential improvements. Do you want rough and ready with a tent for windows and roof, of do you want to stay dry in the rain, Do you want world class brakes or press hard and hope you don't lock up the tires with no ABS and your brakes are warm enough to actually work.
Vipers may all look similar but there is 23 years of variation in there, every gen is an improvement on the last but not necessarily better, depending on what your looking for. Prices on the first three gens are converging. so whilst you may pay more for a gen3 it wont necessarily seem like much difference for 10yrs of separation over a sought after blue and white GTS.
One of these days i will have a convenient moment to list a classified for my 97 GTS, trouble is I don't really want to sell it and i always find a reason not to list it, but time is running out on its storage location so it wont be a choice soon
ViperAd said:
Almost feels like i have something to prove just to be posting on here......
Not at all welcome to the Viper forums 
Please ignore the other bloke, he's a wind up merchant and has upset a few people.I was just asking about your buying status as sometimes people are many months away from buying and Just looking for a bit of advice
I tend to use the Other forum most of the time as its gone downhill over the years on PH
Another potential first-time Viper buyer here, so I hope you don't mind me piggy-backing an existing thread with a couple of questions. Like the OP I'm also interested in a late Gen II GTS.
Is there a good online buyers guide for these cars? I've had a bit of a search around and a read of the VOA forum, which while it has a ton of useful information on it, I couldn't actually see a compiled guide. I've also seen several mentions of the Maurice Liang book, but this seems to be like unobtainium now.
Is there a list of recommended mods, ie fixes for any known weak spots or just things that make a good car great? Lots of owners seem to mod their cars, and recommend buying something pre-modded, but what sort of things are the must-haves? I'm not looking to buy some 1000bhp supercharged beast as I'm sure the standard car will be beast enough to begin with.
Thanks.
Is there a good online buyers guide for these cars? I've had a bit of a search around and a read of the VOA forum, which while it has a ton of useful information on it, I couldn't actually see a compiled guide. I've also seen several mentions of the Maurice Liang book, but this seems to be like unobtainium now.
Is there a list of recommended mods, ie fixes for any known weak spots or just things that make a good car great? Lots of owners seem to mod their cars, and recommend buying something pre-modded, but what sort of things are the must-haves? I'm not looking to buy some 1000bhp supercharged beast as I'm sure the standard car will be beast enough to begin with.
Thanks.
Hello,
Info on model changes and specs here
http://www.theviperregistry.org/features.php
Breakdown on how to read Vin numbers here and what it all means
http://www.theviperregistry.org/vin.php
On the Drivers door there will be a laminated sticker detailing even more Build information
Explained here
http://www.theviperregistry.org/mdh.php
There are TWO Car clubs, the VCA (Viper Club America) and the now running in its Second year the new club VOA
(Viper Owners Association).
There were reasons a new club was formed and many regions including the UK broke away from the old club and are now part of the VOA
Our forum here
http://driveviper.com/forums/forums/25-United-King...
Info on model changes and specs here
http://www.theviperregistry.org/features.php
Breakdown on how to read Vin numbers here and what it all means
http://www.theviperregistry.org/vin.php
On the Drivers door there will be a laminated sticker detailing even more Build information
Explained here
http://www.theviperregistry.org/mdh.php
There are TWO Car clubs, the VCA (Viper Club America) and the now running in its Second year the new club VOA
(Viper Owners Association).
There were reasons a new club was formed and many regions including the UK broke away from the old club and are now part of the VOA
Our forum here
http://driveviper.com/forums/forums/25-United-King...
Thanks for all the replies, been away and my wife wasn't so keen on me taking the laptop/ipad along too!
Zubair - sounds a good call, i think a highly modded one will be a little much for what i want and i would be more than happy with a standard viper with just a few good mods. Out of curiosity, compared to if your car was standard i.e., as new. what kind of difference was your insurance premium from that to what the car is now. I like the idea of one with some good mods, but i might have to draw a line somewhere esp if the insurance ends up being 3,4,5x as much as a standard car? I think being my first and taking in all this knowledge I'm going to stick with looking at the Uk market for one. Will keep you in mind though should i change my mind.
oxam - I'm over 30 so CCI should be a good bet for me, just depends what kinds specs I'm looking at i guess. I don't want to end up paying stupid money!
Gt500nick - what kind of GTS have you got? Yeah I'm always interested to see any Viper thats Gen 2 for sale to see if its the one for me. If you can send me the details would be great and let me know the mods you have done. Ta
ViperDave - ideally i guess a mid level modded Viper, when you say essential improvements, what am i looking for here? I know the brakes can be an issue and a lot of people replace them.
I know the mid 2001 Gen 2 have ABS fitted, has this made much of a difference?
would you personally pay a bit extra for a late 2001 model compared to an early 2001 without the abs or is it a minor difference when you have replaced the brakes anyway?
Fatboy - Im pretty much set to be able to get one now whenever i see one that ticks the boxes. Im not rushing as i wanted to gain a bit more Gen and know what i should look for or avoid. Im still deliberating on the modded bit, how modded to go etc? Im told end of summer there is usually more up for sale when it comes to the end of the season so is it worth waiting til then and see whats about?
Thanks for all the info, one of the guys up north here has offered to show me his viper this aft. No doubt that will help answer a lot of questions i have too and will be off the bank shortly after haha
Cheers
Ad
Zubair - sounds a good call, i think a highly modded one will be a little much for what i want and i would be more than happy with a standard viper with just a few good mods. Out of curiosity, compared to if your car was standard i.e., as new. what kind of difference was your insurance premium from that to what the car is now. I like the idea of one with some good mods, but i might have to draw a line somewhere esp if the insurance ends up being 3,4,5x as much as a standard car? I think being my first and taking in all this knowledge I'm going to stick with looking at the Uk market for one. Will keep you in mind though should i change my mind.
oxam - I'm over 30 so CCI should be a good bet for me, just depends what kinds specs I'm looking at i guess. I don't want to end up paying stupid money!
Gt500nick - what kind of GTS have you got? Yeah I'm always interested to see any Viper thats Gen 2 for sale to see if its the one for me. If you can send me the details would be great and let me know the mods you have done. Ta
ViperDave - ideally i guess a mid level modded Viper, when you say essential improvements, what am i looking for here? I know the brakes can be an issue and a lot of people replace them.
I know the mid 2001 Gen 2 have ABS fitted, has this made much of a difference?
would you personally pay a bit extra for a late 2001 model compared to an early 2001 without the abs or is it a minor difference when you have replaced the brakes anyway?
Fatboy - Im pretty much set to be able to get one now whenever i see one that ticks the boxes. Im not rushing as i wanted to gain a bit more Gen and know what i should look for or avoid. Im still deliberating on the modded bit, how modded to go etc? Im told end of summer there is usually more up for sale when it comes to the end of the season so is it worth waiting til then and see whats about?
Thanks for all the info, one of the guys up north here has offered to show me his viper this aft. No doubt that will help answer a lot of questions i have too and will be off the bank shortly after haha
Cheers
Ad
CCI are pretty good on the modded part, they won't charge much more unless you go nuts with a 1200whp twin turbo monster. Brakes, suspension, exhaust barely made a difference on the premium. The supercharger won't be much more neither. However it's all based on previous experience with fast cars etc (Also race licence or any other driving schools) They were pretty happy to insure me given that my last 3 cars were 500+ hp and my daily is 650hp.
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